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CNN This Morning
FBI Investigating New Message In Nancy Guthrie Abduction; Pres. Trump Refusing To Apologize For Racist Obama Video; Iran's Foreign Minister: Iran Will Continue Uranium Enrichment; Mangione Reacts In Court To Judge's Decision To Move State Trial Up; Kids Kept Home From School Amid Immigration Crackdown; Bitcoin Falls Below $63,000 Off Nearly 50 Percent Since October Peak; Lost Michaelangelo Sketch Of Foot Sets Auction Record; Super Bowl LX Kicks Off Tomorrow. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired February 07, 2026 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for staying with CNN THIS MORNING. Its Saturday, February 7. I'm Victor Blackwell.
There are new details in the search for Nancy Guthrie. Investigators are looking into a new note sent to the media. We're live in Arizona with the latest on the effort to bring Nancy Guthrie home.
President Trump is refusing to apologize for posting that racist video depicting the Obamas as apes. The explanation he gave reporters for why it was posted and who the White House is blaming for it.
Luigi Mangione is back in court. He was in court on Friday. The key ruling from the judge that prompted an outburst from Mangione as he was being led out of the courtroom.
Plus, what's going on with Bitcoin? It's been in freefall for months now. We'll tell you what's had traders on edge lately.
Plus, Super Bowl LX is upon us. Live look at Levi's Stadium. Coy Wire is here with how both teams are preparing in the final hours.
All right. We are following new developments this morning in the search for Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is now scrutinizing a new cryptic message sent to CNN affiliate KOLD. Now, the station says while this note does not appear to be a ransom demand, it does contain sensitive information. Just hours after that note surfaced, drone footage captured FBI agents and local deputies swarming Guthrie's Tucson area home.
And we're also hearing from the White House. President Trump told reporters Friday evening that the FBI has some very strong clues and suggested that answers in Guthrie's disappearance could be coming very soon.
CNN's Ivan Rodriguez joins us now from outside Nancy Guthrie's home. Tell us about this new message, what we know about it, and the surge of law enforcement at that home.
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, good morning. It's been seven days now since Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. And as you mentioned, new developments of this note that were sent to a local TV station, KOLD. Now, the news anchor for the station believes that there is no ransom in this note. She also says that there doesn't appear to be any sort of new deadline, and this could really be a sort of communication to the Guthrie family, specifically in regards to the videos that were released by the Guthrie family in the last several days.
Now, the FBI is going through this note, scrutinizing the note. We haven't received any sort of information from officials saying that this note is real. But this news anchor from KOLD did say that the person or people who wrote this second note specifically pointed to certain things that would lead investigators to believe that it's the same people or person that sent the first note.
And yesterday, as you also mentioned, we saw investigators come back out to Guthrie's home. We also saw investigators on top of the roof of the home, placing evidence markers and continuing to go through certain areas of the home like they have been doing now for the last several days. Last night, we also saw a car that was towed near the residence here of Nancy Guthrie's home as well. And last night, we also heard from a retired FBI supervisory agent who believes he has a better of a sense in terms of the mindset of whoever may have allegedly taken Nancy Guthrie.
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STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: There, by definition, amateurs, because I'm absolutely certain they've never done this before. And number two, the way they're going about this really shows some misconceptions about how kidnappings work. They think that you take the person, and while they're gone, you say you give us this money, or we'll harm this person, and the money comes. No, no, no, no. That's not how it works. You need proof of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODRIGUEZ: One of the earlier ransom deadline has already passed. That was for Thursday at 5:00 p.m. As earlier been reported, that next deadline, according to that first ransom, is for Monday at 5:00 p.m. And according to TMZ, that ransom contained information regarding how they wanted millions of dollars of Bitcoin for Guthrie's safe return.
And the Pima County sheriff had also earlier said that he didn't plan on having any new press conferences until there was new evidence. So, we'll if the news of this new message, the second message, will prompt officials to hold any further press conferences, whether it be today or tomorrow. Victor.
[07:05:23]
BLACKWELL: Ivan Rodriguez, thank you so much. Joining me now is CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Jonathan Wackrow. Jonathan, good morning to you. So, two things happened yesterday. You had both the note that was delivered to this local station and the increased activity at the home. Should people at home assume that there's a causal relationship between those two, that they -- the reason they went back to that house and were on the roof and putting down markers is because of something that was in that note?
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, good morning, Victor. And great question. And I can see how, you know, people will make that analytical leap. But when you see action by law enforcement, it does not necessarily mean a reaction to one singular piece of evidence. And in this case, the second note.
When you have very time-sensitive investigations like this is, what you will find is that law enforcement will work multiple parallel investigative tracks at the same time. Now, if you take a step back and take a look at the arc of this investigation prior to yesterday, we really see -- we really were witnessing a stalled investigation where we were not seeing a lot of law enforcement activity. And all of a sudden, we see this note come in and a lot of activity around the house. Again, you can make that leap that they may be tied together, but I just caution that one item does not necessarily mean that it's a reaction to the note.
And again, the reason why is law enforcement is not going to take this second note at face value. Whenever you're dealing with an abduction case and a ransom note, the most important thing is establishing the authenticity of this communication. Now, we are hearing some parts that this second note does contain information, or may contain information that ties back to the first note, but we're not seeing any markers of time in terms of the deadline for Monday, an increase of the ransom amount. So, investigators have a lot to work on.
The good thing is, is that the activity is showing that the law enforcement, both the FBI and local law enforcement, are working together on some sort of new investigative leads. The fact that they returned back to the house is a good sign. It means that they're actioning off of information.
Again, we really haven't seen that the -- in the few days before that. So, I see all of this as a positive direction. But at the end of the day, we still don't have proof of life for Nancy Guthrie. And that is the remaining question of where is she.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Jonathan, what do you make of the alleged kidnapper, if these are authentic notes that are coming from the people who have Nancy Guthrie continuing to communicate through the media? The KOLD anchor who received this note -- received the first note, in addition to TMZ, that first one, not going directly to the family or going directly to law enforcement?
WACKROW: Yes. I mean, that's a great question. And you know, there's a lot of different things. You can look at this from a behavioral standpoint. When you look at motivation for taking somebody, it's either going to be financial -- you know, financially driven, it's going to be grievance driven, or it could be a fixation. So, right now, FBI behaviorists are going to be looking at the behavioral side of this in terms of fixation. Is this person who potentially took this Guthrie, are they fixated with media? Again, you took the mother of a prominent media personality who has -- you know, is beloved by the country. You send ransom notes not just to one media outlet, the local media, but you sent it to TMZ as well.
So, there is a thread here from a behavioral standpoint around fixation towards the media aspect. But again, that is just a -- one of many working investigative hypotheses that could happen. Again, we see the ransom note does contain a significant amount of money that we've been told. So, you may have two motivations at the same time. Fixation and financial.
BLACKWELL: All right. Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much for the analysis.
President Trump is refusing to apologize for a racist video that appeared on his Truth Social feed. Part of it depicted Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Now, the White House scrambled to contain the fallout all day yesterday, before it was ultimately taken down after several hours.
The post sparked bipartisan outrage. Republican Representative Mike Lawler posted on X, urging President Trump to delete it. Along with Senators Pete Ricketts and Roger Wicker, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted the post and the president on Instagram.
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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): This disgusting video posted by the so- called president was done intentionally. (BLEEP) Donald Trump and his vile, racist, and malignant behavior.
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BLACKWELL: CNN's Kevin Liptak explains the White House's response.
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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (voice-over): This video sent the White House into damage control mode for most of the day on Friday, after it appeared on the president's feed around midnight. Initially, the White House tried to downplay it. The press secretary calling it fake outrage before the video was taken down, and the White House blamed a staffer.
Now, late Friday, the president offered more of an explanation of how all of this happened. He said that he had viewed only the beginning of the video, which included debunked claims about voter fraud in voting machines, before the racist image of the Obamas suddenly appeared at the very end. The president said he had passed along the video to a staffer who also did not watch the video to the end, and then posted it online. The president said, "Somebody slipped and missed a very small part." But the president again declining to apologize, even though a number of Republicans had been calling on him to do so. You know, the president had created something of an uproar, including from members of his own party.
The Senator, Tim Scott, who is the only black Republican in the Senate, said it was the most racist thing he had ever seen come out of the White House. The president said, "I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine." He said it was a strong post in terms of voter fraud. And he said, "Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they would have looked, they would have seen it, and probably they would have had the sense to take it down."
The president claimed that they took the video down, "As soon as we found out about it." Although it had remained on his page for nearly 12 hours. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Right now, more than 90 million people across the country talking the East Coast, are waking up to a blast of arctic air. Coldest we've seen this season. Extreme cold alerts stretch across the entire region, including D.C. and Philadelphia. New York City is bracing for the bitter cold temperatures. Homeless outreach teams were out yesterday trying to get the unhoused into shelters.
CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here. OK. So, there is good news, but it's a little deeper into the week.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
BLACKWELL: We've got to get through this first.
CHINCHAR: Yes. But finally, some warmer temperatures are going to arrive. And not just for the Northeast, the Midwest, the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic. A lot more regions are going to start to see temperatures that actually should just be normal for this time of year.
BLACKWELL: Yes. But?
CHINCHAR: But you got to get through the weekend. Yes. So, let's take a look. Also too, because that cold air is in place, we have snow showers even in some places we wouldn't normally see them. What I mean by that is places like Boston, Hartford, Providence, Rhode Island, all of their normal high temperatures this time of year, upper 30s. New York, right around 40, 41.
So, normally when you get a system like this, it would come in in the form of rain showers because we would be too warm. But because that cold air is in place, you've got a lot of these snow showers kind of sliding through. Most of it is light, but you've got a couple areas of dark purple there on the screen indicating you've got some heavier bands of snow. But all of these alerts right here, these are all your cold weather alerts indicating that these temperatures are well below where they normally would be this time of year.
Here's a look. 20 degrees right now in New York. 26 in Boston. It is negative two in Buffalo. Keep in mind that does not even take into account the wind that's there. All of these dots also indicate records.
Now, here's the thing. You've got some out west. Those are for record warm afternoon high temperatures. The ones in the east, those are for record cold afternoon high temperatures.
So, quite a bit of a different story. But notice all of that orange color starts to spread eastward as we head into next week. Meaning, were going to start to see those temperatures warming back up.
Now, we also mentioned the wind. This is also going to stick around for much of the weekend, but will also go away next week. In the short term, though, you've got some wind gusts 40, 50, even 60 miles per hour. So, it's taking those already incredibly cold temperatures and making them feel even colder.
Look at this. Feels like -- or will feel like negative 13 in New York tomorrow morning. Negative 14 in Buffalo. Even fast forwarding into Monday, it's still expected to be very, very cold for that feels like temperature, Monday morning.
Even though the winds will slowly start to come back down, those temperatures are just simply so cold out there. It's what's really going to make it feel bitter cold. But again, just focus on the fact that it's going to get better next week.
BLACKWELL: Think warm thoughts.
CHINCHAR: Yes. There you go.
BLACKWELL: All right. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.
A check of this morning's headlines. California health officials say at least four deaths are linked to death cap mushrooms. Experts say the rainy weather in the winter has caused a super bloom of the poisonous mushrooms across the state.
Authorities say there have been more than three dozen cases of poisoning since November, and at least three people have needed liver transplants after eating the fungus. Health experts say the death cap can be confused with safe varieties of mushrooms, and people should avoid mushroom foraging altogether this year.
[07:15:24]
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release more than $16 billion in funding for New York. That money is meant for a new rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey. A judge said keeping the funds locked up would harm the public.
And this follows reports that President Trump told Senator Chuck Schumer he would restore the money if Schumer backed renaming Penn Station and Virginia's Dulles airport after Trump. Trump says it was Schumer's idea. Schumer called that an absolute lie.
Starting Monday, members of Congress will be allowed to review unredacted versions of the Jeffrey Epstein files at the Department of Justice. That's according to a new letter from the DOJ obtained by CNN. Lawmakers are asked to give 24 hours' notice of when they'd like to view the materials. They will not be allowed to bring in outside electronic devices, but they can take handwritten notes.
The 2026 Winter Olympics officially opened in Milan. The opening ceremony delivered a star-packed start to the winter games, with performances from Andrea Bocelli and Mariah Carey. Team USA's flag bearers were Bobsledder Frank Del Duca and Speed Skater Aaron Jackson. This year's U.S. roster includes 232 athletes, the largest Winter Olympic team the U.S. has ever sent. And Lindsey Vonn -- we're all watching her -- cruised through her second training run this morning, appears set for tomorrow's medal event after tearing her ACL a few days ago.
Still ahead. Talks between the U.S. and Iran may have just gotten more complicated. Why? Iran's foreign minister says the country must continue enriching uranium.
A trial date has been set for Luigi Mangione while his defense is rushing to prepare. And this weekend brings the moment NFL fans have been waiting for. Super Bowl LX. Bad Bunny fans, too. We have a pregame look ahead.
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BLACKWELL: New this morning. In Russia's war on Ukraine, President Zelenskyy says the U.S. wants a peace deal worked out by June to end the conflict. Now, Zelenskyy says the U.S. has laid out the summer deadline. That's even though he acknowledges there have been no major breakthroughs in recent trilateral negotiations. In the meantime, Russia launched drones into the Kyiv region overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says more than 400 drones and 40 missiles were part of the assault. The strikes also targeted key energy facilities in several areas.
In Moscow, state media reports a Russian general has regained consciousness now after being shot and seriously injured in a residential building on Friday. The 64-year-old is the latest top military leader to be targeted. Russia's foreign minister accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt without providing any proof there. Ukraine has not commented on that shooting.
Also new this morning. A major development in the high-stakes talks between Iran and the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program. A short time ago, Iran's foreign minister doubled down on his plans to continue Iran's uranium enrichment program. The U.S. has been calling for Iran to stop its nuclear program entirely. There's no word on how this will affect indirect talks with Iran, which are set to continue next week.
Now, President Trump said Friday's talks with Oman -- or in Oman, I should say, went very well. Still, just hours later, Trump slapped Iran with new oil-related sanctions. And Trump also warned Iran the U.S. has a large fleet headed to the region.
CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson joins us now. Nic, good morning to you.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Good morning. It is a little surprising to hear the Iranian foreign minister sort of so robustly, apparently scotching the hopes, desires of the U.S. negotiating team going into those talks yesterday, where they'd gone in to talk about Iran's enrichment of uranium, its stockpiles of enriched uranium, its ballistic missiles, its funding of proxies, its repression of its own people. To have the foreign minister, A., come out of that meeting yesterday and say that it was positive and he believed that there could be longer term negotiations coming, which is reflected in what President Trump has had to say as well, but that he should come out today and say that it's an undeniable right for Iran to be able to enrich uranium.
I mean, that seems to fly directly in the face of the U.S. position. But these are negotiations. But he also said its non-negotiable to negotiate about Iran's ballistic missiles. That also is a surprise, because that, again, was seen to be a line that would scupper the potential of talks here. And President Trump being very, very clear for the Iranian leadership, despite how well the talks seem to be going so far, what's at stake for them. This is what he said.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The results today were -- with Iran, it was a meeting. We're going to meet again early next week. And they want to make a deal. Iran, as they should, want to make a deal. They know the consequences if they don't. They don't make a deal, the consequences are very steep. So, we'll see what happens.
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[07:25:14]
ROBERTSON: So, the president there really putting forward the possibility of military action. Consequences could be very -- could be very steep. The Abraham Lincoln, the other naval vessels that are in the Gulf, they are all capable of being involved in a much larger amount of military pressure on Iran. That's being held back at the moment. But the president also doubling down on what else he can do beyond the military level of pressure and those with the sanctions that we saw just yesterday.
And these are sanctions that are intended, according to the State Department, to stop Iran funding terrorists in the region. Their proxies, like Hezbollah to the north of here, Hamas in the south of Israel in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, all of that. And as well, to stop Iran, to cut off its funding that the State Department says is being used to repress its people.
So, it's not just military pressure that's being sort of held up, if you will, as a stick, but there's actual economic pressure being added into Iran. So, where do the talks go from here? Expect talks in the next couple of days. But so far, very slow and seem to be much more talks about talks rather than substance, which is really tough territory at the moment.
BLACKWELL: Yes, both countries starting at absolutes. We'll see if they can get to some negotiations on that nuclear program. Nic Robertson for us, thank you so much.
A court outburst marks the first time that we've actually heard from accused killer Luigi Mangione. Why he says a judge's ruling is unfair? That's next.
Plus, no recess, covered windows, student escorts. How Minnesota schools are protecting vulnerable students from Operation Metro Surge. That's next.
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[07:31:27]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Luigi Mangione's murder trial is moving up to start sooner than many expected. His state trial is now set for June. That's three months before he's set to face federal charges. The change caught the defense off guard and triggered an emotional moment in court from Mangione himself.
Here is CNN's Kara Scannell.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor.
A New York judge told Luigi Mangione's lawyers to be ready because they are going to trial on state murder charges in four months. Judge Gregory Carro, who is overseeing the state case at a June 8 trial date jumping ahead of a federal trial that is scheduled for September.
Judge Carro said, "It appears that the federal government has reneged on their agreement to allow the state, who has done most of the work in this case, to go first." The Manhattan District Attorney's Office argued their case might become moot if they went second under double jeopardy grounds which guard against being prosecuted for the same crime twice.
The decision dramatically changed the timeline for the defense, prompting an outburst from Mangione as he was being led out of the courtroom. He said, same trial twice. One plus one equals two. Double jeopardy by any common-sense definition.
After court, Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, called it unfair.
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KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY TO LUIGI MANGIONE: All I will say is double jeopardy is meant to protect people, and they are using it as a weapon here. So, it's unfair. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SCANNELL: Mangione is back before the judge in May, when he will learn whether key evidence found in his backpack will be admitted at the trial. Victor?
BLACKWELL: All right, Kara. Thank you very much.
Turning now to Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, it's taken two lives and changed the lives of so many other people who live there. ICE agents have carried out enforcement actions near churches and schools. And on Friday, a federal appeals court green-lighted the White House policy of detaining undocumented immigrants without giving them an opportunity to seek release through bond hearings.
The ruling impacts detainees in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. There is so much fear these days in Minnesota, some school's report attendance is below 50 percent, with many students afraid to leave their homes.
Andrea Castillo joins us now. She covers immigration issues for the Los Angeles Times. Andrea, thank you so much for being with me, and I read your story, and we are going to put up some of the pictures that really show just how sparse attendance is there. How has this changed these schools? You were at a charter school when some of these photos, it's just a student or two in a classroom.
ANDREA CASTILLO, STAFF WRITER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: That's right. you know, that's the -- high school that I visited is majority, Latino High School of 800 students, attendance had dropped below 400 many days. This was, in particular, in the wake of Alex Pretti's killing. The school has offered online learning, but when I was there, teachers were still dropping off laptops and hot spots for students who didn't have any.
They have covered the windows on the first floor with craft paper so that people can't look in, And the school is operating under active shooter protocols.
So, if ICE agents are confirmed to be a nearby, those doors are locked and the hallways are cleared. And like you said, you know, many classrooms are nearly empty. There was a class I observed that was supposed to have 21 students in it. It had four.
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BLACKWELL: Yes. Let me read, actually, part of your write here for the Los Angeles Times. "If agents were to enter the building without a judicial warrant, the school would go into full lockdown, turning off lights, staying silent, and moving out of sight."
That sounds just like an active shooter drill. You say, the administrators and teachers are also creating this security bubble, which involves whistles and walking them out to busses individually. They also have to now go to these students' homes as well. CASTILLO: That's right. They have created a bodega at the school, where they are receiving donations of groceries and other necessities, and teachers are spending their own personal time delivering these in their -- you know, in their own cars after school, when these kids let out.
BLACKWELL: Yes. One of the people you spoke with for the story compares the distance learning with COVID. Right? And that's the first thing I thought about his workbooks, and some -- you have to mail the work to some of these students. How do they envision this will impact lesson retention? Seniors who are, you know, trying to get to graduation and apply for colleges?
CASTILLO: Yes, they said the, you know, the impacts of this are going to be really widespread. One administrator that I spoke with said, even if they returned to school after next week, they still would have missed 20 percent of their entire school year by that point. So, you know, for juniors and seniors, especially the kids who are trying to apply for college, this is going to, you know, really make them take a hit.
BLACKWELL: Now, I read the portion about if agents were to enter the building. You also write that it hasn't happened though, ICE last year rescinded a policy that barred arrest at so called sensitive locations like schools and churches, which we discussed. What does ICE said about these protocols at the school -- or DHS?
CASTILLO: You know? They just -- yes, DHS said that ICE does not target schools, and they said that blaming the agency for low school attendance will create a climate of fear and is smearing law enforcement. School officials and students obviously see it differently.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Last question here. Tom Homan announced a 700 agent draw down. The President said that ICE and CBP can take a softer touch. Has that assuaged any of the fears of these students and teachers?
CASTILLO: NO when I was there, students and teachers were saying they were kind of in a wait-and-see mode. They wanted to see, you know, how this will play out before they make any hard decisions. And the school was, you know, slated to still be offering online learning at least through next week.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Some families making some difficult choices to keep their children home and teachers having to do a lot more work to protect those students. Andrea Castillo, thank you so much for being with me.
Still ahead, Bitcoin has taken a beating, losing nearly double its value since November. What's caused the cryptocurrency to come crashing down? And if you're heading out, remember you can stream my show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. You can also go to cnn.com/watch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:42:50]
BLACKWELL: What is going on with Bitcoin? Right now, the most famous cryptocurrency in the world is trading about $69,000, but it closed below $63,000 this week, and that's for the first time in 16 months. That's nearly half its value lost since it peaked in October.
Crypto, as you know, is notoriously volatile. But Bitcoin's four-month slump has come at a time when it appears to have everything going for it. We get more now from CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. The notoriously volatile asset has been in a freefall in these last few months. Since Bitcoin's high of $126,000 per coin in October, its value has dropped close to half. So, down 50 percent, trading earlier this week close to $60,000.
Now, there isn't one main reason for the fall, but here are a few. Bitcoin traders are now trading and operating almost like Wall Street traders, reacting to news. And here's what I mean by that. There's a nervousness from traders over geopolitical uncertainty and volatility. For example, like when President Trump threatens to attack Iran or escalate a trade war or acquire Greenland.
There's also concerns about A.I. capabilities replacing software, which is a huge concern with Wall Street investors, and we're seeing some of that concern play out in the Bitcoin space. So, that ultimately leads to more concern over whether Bitcoin is really that digital safe haven that people have thought, really exempt from the pressures of any news or things that are going on in the geopolitical space. Bitcoin has often been referred to as digital gold, referring to gold as that constant safe haven.
Now, this isn't the first time Bitcoin has tumbled. Back in 2022, when FTX imploded, Bitcoin lost 60 percent of its value only to claw that back and become even more valuable. So, Victor, at the end of the day, this is a market. There are always ups and there are always downs.
BLACKWELL: All right, Vanessa, thank you so much.
[07:45:01]
Question for you. How much would you shell out for a five-inch 500- year-old drawing of a foot? Well, if it's this sketch believed to be by Michelangelo himself, the answer is more than $27 million. That's what it sold for at auction at Christie's in New York. It's believed to be one of the Italian master's long-lost works, a study for one of his large fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
Now Christie's says only 50 sketches for those murals are believed to exist. And after a bidding war, it went for 20 times the estimate. It's now the most expensive Michelangelo work ever sold at auction.
And when Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl halftime show, he told everyone, "Brush up on your Spanish." He'll perform it in primarily Spanish, but he assured everyone that you really don't have to know Spanish to enjoy it. Still I called on my CNN colleague, Isabel Rosales, for help. Here's part of my Spanish lesson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
BLACKWELL: See, that's what it is. Mi abuelo. That's why we're saying it's -- because it's mi abuelo.
ROSALES: Yes. Yes.
BLACKWELL: And now it's mi abuelo.
You don't hear how that becomes three syllables instead of four.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Yes. Watch more of my lesson with Isabel coming up in the next hour of "FIRST OF ALL."
Still ahead, the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots ready to face off in Super Bowl 60. Coy joins us with a look ahead in sports. And tune in tonight for a new episode of Have I Got News for You. Joining the fun will be California Senator Adam Schiff and award- winning comedian Hasan Minhaj. Watch it tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN and tomorrow on the CNN app.
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[07:51:23]
BLACKWELL: Super Bowl LX kicks off tomorrow in the Bay Area. Live look at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Seattle Seahawks betting favorite right now over the New England Patriots. Coy Wire joins me now. Look ahead.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, this is one of the most unlikely matchups. When you look at the preseason odds perspective, these teams should have never been there. Making it to a Super Bowl is so tough, Victor. I played nine seasons in the league, never sniffed one. But Hall of Famers like Barry Sanders, Tony Gonzalez, Dan Marino, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen, current players, they've never been to one. The Patriots and Seahawks rosters, of the 106 players, only seven have ever been to a Super Bowl.
Now, New England's 23-year-old rookie running back, TreVeyon Henderson, won the College Football National Championship with Ohio State last season and now can become a Super Bowl champion in his very first year in the NFL. Lucky him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TREVEYON HENDERSON, RUNNING BACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: It's been a long season, of course, coming off the national championship, playing in the NFL. It's been the longest season of my life. And so, I thank God for just giving me the strength to continue to push through when times got tough, when times got hard, and to be here now and to be a part of this organization, to be surrounded around these group of guys. Man, I'm grateful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right. Bad Bunny is set to become the first Latino male artist to headline the halftime show. He is expected to do it all in Spanish, also a first. Halftime shows almost always create a stir. And this one absolutely has already. Find out more about the proudly Puerto Rican performer and what shaped him, Saturday 10:00 p.m. tonight in a new CNN documentary, Bad Bunny and The Halftime Show: Rhythms of Resistance.
Just a couple of hours ago at the Olympics, Lindsey Vonn completed her second Olympic training session since revealing she ruptured her left ACL. And she finished more than two seconds faster than she did in her first run yesterday. No ACL, no problem. The challenges just keep coming, but she keeps conquering and she looks fully ready to shock the world in Sunday's medal event.
Five medal events already happening today, including snowboard big air and the Winter Games just awarded its first gold medal. Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen winning gold in the men's Olympic downhill. The host country won its first medals as well. Italy taking both silver and bronze in that event.
And Team USA mixed doubles curling is in action today. And we have a special treat for you tomorrow. Victor, Ally, and I. Look out, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Oh.
WIRE: Oh, baby. We did some investigative journalism to find out what this sport of curling is all about. I wish we had this Nike Therma-FIT Milano jacket that we showed you last weekend. And --
BLACKWELL: What are you wearing, a medium here?
WIRE: Let's -- what this thing, air goes into it. Yes. You can hear it. And watch Allison go. It goes from like this lightweight hoodie to all of the sudden, do you feel it?
CHINCHAR: It is getting bigger.
WIRE: It is.
BLACKWELL: Well, with as much room as there's left in there, how big does this thing get?
WIRE: It goes from like a lightweight hoodie to a midsize puffer. Like it's --
CHINCHAR: This feels like one of those blood pressure things. It's squeezing my arms.
BLACKWELL: Oh, it is. Yes, it is like one of those. So, I'm going to Alaska next month. I'm going to ask you on television so you can't say no. Can I borrow this?
WIRE: My man.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WIRE: My man.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WIRE: Only because you're stylish.
BLACKWELL: Oh, perfect.
WIRE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: All right. Tomorrow, you're going to see us curl.
WIRE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Let me say that. Of course, you teach it. Coy is with the -- former NFL. I'm just flopping all over the ice.
WIRE: Give yourself some credit. He did a very good job afterwards when we all sat around and sipped --
BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.
WIRE: Excellent conversation.
BLACKWELL: That's patience.
WIRE: That's true.
CHINCHAR: You were a great sweeper.
BLACKWELL: It is a fantastic ab workout.
WIRE: It was.
[07:55:04]
BLACKWELL: Yes, it is a great workout. All right, we will see the curling package tomorrow.
WIRE: Yes, sir.
BLACKWELL: All right, coming up on "FIRST OF ALL," I have a question for the Republican lawmakers, specifically those wavering on condemning President Trump for the racist video that stayed up on his social media feed for hours yesterday.
Plus, I talk about his lack of an apology with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eugene Robinson. You're also going to hear from a U.S. Army veteran just deported this week. He'll join us live from Jamaica to talk about his months in ICE detention and what he plans to do now.
Also, Tamar Braxton is here. We'll talk with her and some other special guests about the work they're doing to raise awareness on this National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. Those stories and conversations you will not see anywhere else are coming up after a short break on "FIRST OF ALL."
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